


Charisma Carpenter Transcript on Being Fired

by orange_8_hands



Category: Angel: the Series RPF, Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPF
Genre: Harassment, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Meta, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Pregnancy, dragoncon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 16:35:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16916415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orange_8_hands/pseuds/orange_8_hands
Summary: A partial transcript of the 2009 DragonCon panel when Charisma Carpenter addressed Joss Whedon firing her from Angel. [Transcript made at another user's request.]Originally posted on tumblr; May 2 2015.





	Charisma Carpenter Transcript on Being Fired

Here is a partial transcript of the 2009 DragonCon panel with Felicia Day, Kristy Swanson, Julie Benz [JB], and Charisma Carpenter [CC]. Video used [here](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DY_igTbXKPck&t=ZDg0MDlkNzY1ZWMwMDAwNGM1NjE5NjVhNTRkZGY5YTM1MDA2NzM4YixVRGFvVGpldw%3D%3D&b=t%3ATUfdGWss__3d4ciezzNyhw&p=http%3A%2F%2Foranges8hands.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F117924895453%2Fcharisma-carpenter-transcript-on-being-fired&m=0). (I started at the 4:30 mark, which cuts off the compliment section of the question.) 

 **Q** : It really felt like in the fifth season of Angel when they decided to do what they did with Cordelia, the energy changed, and it didn’t change in a positive way.  
  
**CC** : I know.  
  
[audience laughter]  
  
**Q** : I’m just curious -  
  
**CC** : [it got] cancelled. [makes “villain laughter” faces]  
  
[audience laughter]  
  
**Q** : Well yeah.  
  
[audience still laughing, clapping]  
  
**Q** : I mean, I applaud what they did in bringing Spike over and trying to use Spike as like, you know, the supplemental Cordelia, but, you know, I’m curious like I know that a lot of times Joss will collaborate with the actors as far when he’s building a story arc and when he’s building the characters he will, from what I heard anyway, he will come to the actors or actresses and say hey what do you think of this, and so on and so forth. I’m curious what you felt bout what happened with Cordel-Cordelia’s character as far from the beginning of Buffy, and then transitioning into Angel, and then, I just felt like the way that Cordelia was cut out was kind of really just weak. [crowd starts to murmur] It was just weak [crowd still murmuring] I’m sorry. I’m just curious like did y-, did, how did you feel about it, as an actor and as Cordelia.  
  
**CC** : Wow that’s a loaded question. [audience laughter] Um… well how did I feel about the, well obviously I loved the transition, it was a great experience to have her go the distance, and uh, so on and so forth. And I think what happened, you know my relationship to Joss became strained, when, uh, particularly I mean we all go through our stuff in general on the back side of things, and um, I was going through my stuff, and then I became pregnant and, you know I guess, in his mind he had a different way of seeing the season go, and um in the fourth season. It was my least favorite season, actually. Um, I did not understand the relationship with Connor [she says something else but the audience clapped and I couldn’t hear it] I think, I think he’s a fine actor -  
  
**JB** : I didn’t approve of it.  
  
[audience laughter]  
  
**Q** : It was so weird how Cordelia was in love with him  
  
**CC** : Weird.  
  
**Q** : she was in love with Angel  
  
**CC** : Weird.  
  
**Q** : and then you  
  
**CC** : I think Joss was really, honestly, mad. [audience laughter] He was really mad at me. [audience laughter continues] And, you know, I say that in a, you know,  
  
**JB [to CC]** : loving way  
  
**CC** : in a loving way, which is, you know, its a very complicated dynamic, you know, working for someone for so many years and expectations, and then also as you’ve been on a show for eight years you gotta live your life. And sometimes living your life gets in the way of what, maybe, the creator’s vision is of the future and in that becomes, uh, conflict. And that was my experience. So, without getting into details and stuff, you know I have, um, I think we put that stuff aside and we’re, we’re in a better space. I mean, I would definitely work with him again, and I remember going to a [clears throat] the new box set was coming out so we did the commentaries for that. Which I thought was… [makes face, audience laughter] Anyway, at that meeting, at that meeting, um, you know, Joss and I had a moment to ourselves where we, you know, I just said, you know he had talked about doing like the Dr.Horrible stuff and, and I wasn’t sure but I thought he was, he had a plan, a master plan in keeping the studio out of stuff so he would have more creative control and therefore, because when he does have creative control obviously he’s, he goes the distance with it. Um, I think in that he, um, wanted to get away from being told what to do in terms of creation, and I think, I thought, that I would be a part of those things he - maybe in the future I would be. Um, but it was a great moment for us to have a-a dialogue about ‘would you really work with me again?’ and he’s like, 'well would you work with me’ and I’m like, 'yeah’ and he goes, 'yeah.’ [audience laughter] So, I felt better about it, but at the time it was a very st-strained experience and when I found out I was going to die, I mean, I agreed to, I didn’t know that I wasn’t going to be in the fifth season, to be honest with you, my fans. I did not know, and I found out in a really horrible way. And, um, and then I found out James was gonna be on Angel which makes sense. And then, um, I never got a phone call from anybody, actually I got a phone call from somebody in the press, which really sucked.  And, um, when that happens. They came to me for the hundredth episode and I said, [clears throat], 'Well, I don’t want to go back because [scoffing noise] because of the way it all went down, I don’t feel good about it.’ But I also knew that you needed closure, as the fans of the show. And I was just very concerned that, I said, 'well I’ll go back  but I don’t want to die. I’m not going to go back to die. Just, not going to do it. So leave it open-ended or whatever.’ And finally that happened, I signed the dotted line, we agreed on all the other terms, I signed the dotted line and then I found out they were going to kill me. [laughter and 'oh’s] And I started crying. And I, I had this conversation, you know, with Jeffrey Bell in my trailer. I was actually working on Mismatched at the time, and that was on the lot where the producers stayed at, um, Buffy-world, or Whedon-world, and he said to me, “listen, I have this really difficult thing I need to tell you, and I know that we talked about this and you weren’t gonna die, but you’re gonna die.’ [slight laughter] And I started bawling, like, I knew you guys would do this to me, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, why did I agree to do this, and I was really upset, I felt totally betrayed. I said, 'well let me hear the story.’ And he said, 'its special.’ And I said, 'well let me hear it.’ And when I heard it I was like, ’[ugh/scoff noise] that’s good. [audience laughter] Joss is good.’ [audience laughter] And, you know, that’s the story, that’s the story behind that. And it sucked that I died, but I really felt like it was a hell of a way to go. [applause]


End file.
